JayKay
by Scottea
Summary: Kirk and McCoy talk with Spock about friendship as he wonders about how he could have been called a friend.


"JayKay JayKay, I have the prize."

"JayKay JayKay, I have the prize."

"JayKay JayKay, I have the prize."

"JayKay, JayKay you are getting too far ahead.."

"JayKay, JayKay you are getting too far ahead.."

Kirk looked at the crew on the bridge with him, "Uhura, all other traffic like that?'

"No, Sir. Most is clearly arrival and departure information. Some obviously from one ship to another. But that's, well, different."

"Information on the ship."

"Small, shuttle craft. The type used for short distances as between their planet and one of the stations. Dropping back from us but seemed to be following."

"Play that last bit again, Uhura." McCoy had a puzzled look and closed his eyes.

"JayKay, JayKay you are getting too far ahead."

"Bones?"

"I've heard that before. It'll come to me."

"More coming, Captain."

"Let's hear it."

"JayKay, JayKay, I am getting volcanic back here."

"JayKay, JayKay, I am getting volcanic back here."

"Connors!" Bone's voice was pleased, annoyed, and puzzled all at the same time.

"Lenny, have him turn round."

"Lenny, have him turn round."

"Jim, we have to get that craft, now."

"Bones?" Kirk tried to think and looked at his friend. In the blue eyes looking back at him he saw the truth, "Helm, hard about, take us back there. I want a tractor beam on that craft as soon as they are in range."

"Yes, Sir."

"Lenny, volcanic situation stable I am not."

"Lenny,"

"Understood. Returning."

"JayKay?"

"Understands."

It seemed to take far too long for the transporter to complete its full decontamination cycle as Kirk, McCoy and a full medical team rushed forward. Sulu was there and letr ot a slow and low whistle as he carefully picked up the weapon they had been sent to retrieve. Kirk gave it, the only prototype of a weapon capable of discharging multiple forms of projectiles both in energy form as well as solid, a cursory glance as he watched Spock and Officer Connors being carried from the Transporter Room.

McCoy stopped Kirk from following them out of the Transporter Room by standing in front of him, "Jim, Spock will be just fine. You go and let the higher echelon know we have their blasted weapon." It had been in the way he had not mentioned Connors that told Kirk all he needed to know.

Connors had a moment of full awareness and had looked at McCoy and McCoy had seen the unsaid in the look. "Need a package. In my quarters, Middle drawer. In red cloth Need Spock here." then lapsed into a light sleep. McCoy had sent a young officer to get the package and wondered what the connection was between Connors and Spock as he had not see then together all that often.

Almost as soon as he woke Spock asked about the status of the shp, if the weapon was safely put away, and then slowly sat up and looked over at the other bed and McCoy saw a momentary flash of that human part of his friend that was so often deeply hidden and almost immediately wished he hadn't as it was clear his Vulcan friend was fighting to maintain control. He had need such anguish, sorrow, and blame he ached to hug, to somehow comfort Spock the way he would Jim but knew it was best to let him deal wth it in his own way.

Spock stood beside the bed looking down at Gregor Connors. He did not allow himself to think of him as an officer but as the man he had known twelve point nine seven years. How different his life aboard the Enterprise under Pike would have been without him. They had not been the close friends as he and Kirk or even McCoy were but there was something there, of that Spock was certain. As he looked down at the man Spock realized he had always been reluctant to apply that term and the implied familiarity to what he had regarding Gregor Connors. Connors had never shown any hostility towards him and had, for seven point nine one months shared accommodation with him and, Spock remembered only too clearly, yet not once objected to so much room being taken up by his meditation space or him occasionally leaving the room so he could meditate in peace after an event, not once complained about there often being documents or items he wanted to further study stacked on his bunk so Spock could collate or study them further, nor had Gregor ever commented on the temperature of the room being very warm by human standards.

A young officer returned and placed a wrapped package on the bed and Spock saw Gregor open his eyes and look up at the officer, "Thanks." then at him , "Remember Pike being furious at me for being drunk and carrying this?"

"Considering how sick you were in our quarters that night, yes."

"Had to get it for you. Open it. Need to see your face."

Spock had heard the exhaustion and pain in his voice and looked up at the monitors. McCoy had said there was nothing that could be done and the Vulcan knew it. "You kept this that long?"

"Waiting for a good time. Now is good. Open it where I can see your face."

Moving closer to the bed Spock carefully unwrapped the package, first the red cloth cover, then blue cover, and stopped. Vulcan lettering on an antique metallic box. Quickly Spock looked down at Connors who was smiling, "Open it."

Kirk reached the door and was going to voice his relief as seeing his friend alive and well again but stopped as he realized some that was disquieting to his friend was happening that he had no place in.

If he were ever to admit to an emotion at that moment it would have been trepidation. He had heard of such a box and what it contained but that was impossible. For three centuries his people had been trying to find this, knowing only it existed and that it had been stolen and had been last seen over a decade before in the hands of a xenophobic human. There had been talk that he had lost it to a man with a hatred of Vulcans in a card game where the man who won it infuriated the other because he had the second lowest possible hand in the game while the other who had owned it had the second highest. Almost with a sensation of apprehension Spock lifted the lid and just looked down at it. Surak's sixth book, the missing one. A cauldron of emotions seemed to engulf him for a moment and Spock acknowledged them and accepted them as they were both Vulcan and Human.

"That's it. That's what I wanted to see." Connors reached out and Spock took the hand, "He was livid. I had two threes. He thought I disliked Vulcans. If he had known my friend was one." the hand in his tightened and Connors closed his eyes as pain shook his body.

"I," Spock started but Connors opened his eyes.

"We've never needed words. This was my decision. You take care of yourself. Kirk's okay. My decision." there was a momentary squeeze of his hand. "Hey," Spock looked down into the light brown eyes and saw not only the pain in them but also the love and acceptance he had always seen there, "my decision."

So many words threatened to come forth but he knew they were from his Vulcan heritage and were not a part of this. In that moment it was as it always had been with them, no rank, no differences, just a connection. Gently Spock squeezed the hand in his, "Your decision."

"Thanks. Thanks, my friend." Spock heard the words and saw Connors' body relax as life left the brown eyes and he felt the life leave the hand in his. Gently he reached out and closed the eyes.

Standing with his head bowed and his eye shut Spock said, "Captain, you will need to know for you report that from the time the weapon was discharged till Officer Gregor Connors died was three hundred and eighty-seven point five minutes." Slowly he removed his hand from the officer's face and almost reverently stroked the box he held before opening his eyes and looking one last time at the form on the bed then at Kirk, "If, if you gentlemen will excuse me," Spock did not look back as he left.

Kirk started to follow him as he had seldom seen his friend so clearly upset but McCoy grabbed his arm, "Give him time, Jim. There are some things we do not know about their relationship and I think Spock would like us to respect that."

"Bones, do you know how many regulations Connors broke saving Spock? Do you know what Starfleet would have done to him?"

"No," McCoy carefully covered the body and rested his hand on Kirk's shoulder, "but I do know how he died, I know what caused his death, and I know who he died for. I also know that what I owe him for brining one of my two best friends back to me alive can never be repaid. I do not need to know anything else, Jim, Do you?"

"I, I keep hearing the diplomat's warning that both Spock and I ignored. He told us that it was risky for Spock to beam down. He told us if Spock were taken we would be unable to do anything. I don't think either of us believed that such a xenophobic planet could still exist. No wonder some groups there were keen to get that weapon. We virtually got only about a hundred steps away from the beam down site when ten men attacked and took Spock. I remember starting after them and Connors pushing me back to Wallton and saying to get me to the ship as it was a hands-off planet but that he would get Spock as nobody messed with his friend."

"I've got to see what he wants done next, who to notify, disposal of his body.. You going to be okay, Jim?"

"He and Spock go back to service under Pike together, did you know that? Spock told me years ago that they had both served under Pike together." Kirk still saw the look on Connors's face when he had said, "Nobody messes with my friend." and heard that tone that left no doubt something was going to happen.

"I should have known it was him as soon as I heard the JayKay as that was what he called you. When he was in those times after helping pull you, Spock, or some other crew member out of trouble he would say 'JayKay is gonna be so mad at me for breaking yet more regs.'"

The intercom buzzed, "McCoy here."

"Spock here, Doctor. Could you and the Captain please come to my quarters?"

For a moment Kirk and McCoy just looked at one another as it was unusual for Spock to ask in such a way/ "Sure, we're on our way."

They got to Spock's cabin to find it in near darkness apart from the glow from his firepot, a circle of six small candles, and a larger candle aglow on Spock's desk beside the box. "I must apologize for my behaviour earlier,"

"Spock," McCoy spoke, "we understand. We know you."

"I find I am having some difficulty not in accepting his death as I knew from the moment he was stuck by the discharge from the weapon that he would die but in defining what friendship is from the human aspect." He was silent for a moment then looked first at McCoy then at Kirk, "Before he died he called me friend and yet we seldom spent time together or really communicated for over twelve point six three years. We exchanged words on average ten point six times a year which is not what could be considered meaningful conversation. I feel a strange sort of loss in my being that I have not experienced at the death of other fellow officers and a regret for things not said. I am unable to decipher what the loss is from and how, to him, I could have been seen as a friend."

Kirk said, "Well, you did know him for a number of years and that could be a part of it. The death of a long time familiar person could be causing the feeling of loss."

"Or you may have had close some dealings with him long ago that made him think of you as a friend while you were still unsure exactly what a true human friend was." McCoy nodded. "Him calling you a friend for the first time just before he died could have temporarily unsettled you."

"You should know that Gregor Connors had called me his friend years ago and I kept silent about it and could not show him the same respect. While I stood watching him die I should have explained to him what our relationship had meant to me but I was too conflicted and unsure of where to start. When I first came aboard the Enterprise under Captain Pike he was already a part of the crew. Being new and while the Enterprise was in for a refit I was, as per Starfleet regulations, to be assigned quarters I was to share with another officer and, of the sixteen officers who were to take in those new to the ship fifteen refused but he calmly said he had no problem sharing quarters." for a moment Spock clearly remembered standing with Pike and the sixteen of them looking at him, feeling the distrust from the fifteen and not certain what to make of how Connors was looking at him. He could still remember there was no fear no distrust as he had sensed from the others. "Had he not accepted me I would have, again per Starfleet regulations, been assigned to another ship. .He accepted my Vulcan ways and never once ridiculed or complained about them."

Spock stopped for a moment as memories unwelcome about events of that time came forward and then one he found himself smiling about, "I remember going in to have dinner one night and that same group started to taunt me and point out how I did not fit in and he walked in, walked right over to the main officer and picked him up by the front of his uniform, pulled him away from the table, and said, "That is my friend you are talking about. Nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with my friends. He might be different but he is my friend. Mess with him again and you will have more than the mess you have in your pants right now to deal with, am I understood?" He released his hold on the other officer and calmly sat next to me and had his meal as though nothing had happened. After that the officer never bothered me and the fourteen who had been with him apologized, over the years, for their actions."

In the dimness Kirk could feel rather than see dark eyes look at him, "Before you came into my life he was there for me to talk to and with, he was there for me to spar with, but we had nothing like I have with you and McCoy. It was only after he died that I realized I never called him my friend, I never told him what he had meant in my life. He was always just Connors. He just was always there. I never thanked him for even that much less how him accepting me that day had saved my life in Starfleet."

"Saved your life is a bit extreme, Spock. Oh, he may have,"

"What he did, Doctor, was ensure I was allowed on and stayed on the only starship that I wanted, the one with the most advanced scientific facilities, to one that was designed for deep space exploration. If he had refused to share accommodation with me for as long as he did I would not have stayed long in Starfleet."

There was a long silence then Spock continued, "Captain, Doctor, it is most odd as although I knew what most likely would happen to me in the hands of those who took me as it was a hands-off planet, and although I knew there was no way you could help due to numbers and the laws I was not concerned as I knew he was part of the landing party and would come for me. I knew, Jim, that you would if you could but that you would not risk war as would happen if a commanding officer broke the agreements and that you would have the wisdom not to attempt fighting ten of them. There was a certainty in me that Gregor would be himself and do what was as much a part of him as breathing. He would protect and serve. He used to joke that from conception in his family that was all they knew, to protect and serve others but especially their family and friends. I knew he would come for me. I do not know if he was aware what the weapon would do but he got me and I recall I mentioned it was why we came and he got it as well. I heard him yelp in pain and knew he had been hit but I refused to believe it. I did not allow myself to accept he would die until I saw him in Sickbay after you had beamed us aboard."

"Bones, did he know that he was,"

"I did not tell him, but he knew, Jim." McCoy spoke, "He said that JayKay and I would have to deal with any questions Spock might have about his death and he said he was happy Spock had such close and good friends as us."

Spock walked over to where he had placed the metallic box and lightly touched it, "And to think he was the one to have Surak's book. It never occurred to me that he could have had it even though, on reflection, the talked of timeline blends with the reality. I remember he came back late that time which was unusual for him, he was very drunk, which was also unusual for him, and he had that under his arm which was not unusual as he often came back with something for somebody. All he ever said was one day it was going to be a surprise for a good friend. I am at a loss to understand how he could have considered me a good friend. In those last minutes of his life when I could have spoken, when the drugs they had used on me had worn off enough for me to be able to speak, I could not think of what to say. How could I be a friend when I never said the word to him or even about him?"

"Aw, hell,, Spock, real friends don't always need words. You must have realized that by now. We are not always talking and yet we, the three of us, are very good friends."

"But I never said what he meant to me, he would not know,"

Kirk reached out and touched his friend's arm, "He knew, Spock. He knew."

"How could he, Jim? I never told,"

"Oh, you told him all those times you nodded to him in the corridor, those brief exchanges of words not related to ship's duties, and mostly you being there at the end." Briefly Kirk tightened his grip, "There was no mistaking the way he looked at you those last few minutes. He knew you, his friend, was there and he did think of you as a friend."

For a few minutes there was silence then Spock blew out the small candles and turned up the lighting. He was still facing away from them, pouring them each a drink from a special bottle. "Three point seven one years ago he gave me this and said that if he died before me I was to share this bottle with my closest friends as a sign to them and myself that I am not alone. You are my closest friends and I know I am not alone. He knew my Vulcan metabolism does not process alcohol as well as a human's does but said a small toast was all that was needed." He looked first at McCoy as he took the small glass then longer at Kirk as he took his glass, and raised his, "To friends and friendship."

Kirk and McCoy stood and raised their glasses to join in the toast. "To friends and friendship."

For a moment there was silence then McCoy said, "Your friend picked a good bottle to celebrate with. That was smooth and I'll bet expensive. Aged in real oak, you could taste it."

"If it can be arranged I would also like, at a later date, for the three of us to again toast friendship only include Lieutenant Uhua, Sulu, Chekov, and Mister Scott as," for a moment Spock took a deep breath fully realizing he had let his human side dictate his decision and that it was the right thing to do, "I do feel they are also my friends."

Kirk looked at McCoy and saw the same surprise and pleasure he felt reflected in the look McCoy gave him, then looked at Spock, "I am sure that can be arranged, Spock, and I am sure they will be honoured to toast to friendship, that which they have with you and that which you had with Gregor Connors."

"If I may, Captain, I would like you and you, McCoy, to accompany me to Vulcan for the return of book."

"I'll arrange it with Command."Kirk nodded not wanting to add that he already had in mind to contact Command about going to Vulcan.

"I will ask my parents to make arrangements so that all the crew who wish to are, with your permission, able to have time on Vulcan."

"Your father,"

"Doctor, my father will be pleased to do so for it is his family that is returning the book." An image flashed to his mind and he smiled as he looked first at Kirk then back at McCoy, "There is also the fact that my mother will, no doubt, remind him that to her the crew of this ship is part of the family."

"The crew?"

"The whole crew, Doctor, are like very distant relatives and the bridge crew more like immediate family," quickly he glanced at Kirk then back at McCoy and slowly raised an eyebrow, "including the almost mandatory often grumpy uncle."

Kirk quickly poured a small amount into each glass and raised his, "Gentlemen, to family, friends, grumpy uncles and distant relatives."

There was laughter for a moment then three glasses clinked as three voices said in unison, "To family, friends, grumpy uncles and distant relatives."

* * *

A/N Just a quick one off when my friend wanted me to write about the trio on a friendship matter concerning Spock and mentioning grumpy uncles. . . Enjoy and have a great 2017.


End file.
